The silence that tells it all Ziam
by sadyshea
Summary: When Liam makes a joke, and Zayn doesn't how Liam had expected, things change forever between the two of them. / Ziam One Direction Liam Payne Zayn Malik


"How's your girlfriend?" Liam asked, walking into their shared bedroom in the One Direction house.

Zayn looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows shooting up in confusion.

"Huh?" He asked, the mirror in his hand lowering.

Liam nodded at the mirror in Zayn's hand and Zayn scowled at his friend's cheap joke.

"You're hilarious, Li." Zayn muttered, unimpressed.

"You make it too easy, Zayny." Liam said, ruffling Zayn's hair as he passed to his own bed.

"Oi! I just styled that. I loathe you." Zayn grumbled, picking up the mirror to re-style it.

"No, you loooooooooove me!" Liam argued jokingly as he sorted through a mess of laundry, across the room.

Zayn paused at the comment, peeking back at Liam in the mirror with a wince on his face. The silence was so telling that it made Liam quiver with realization. If they hadn't been alone, Zayn would have just been able to laugh it off but now that they were, he simply couldn't hide the truth.

"No. You can't possibly." Liam stated, incredulous.

"I don't!" Zayn objected but his voice betrayed him with a doubt-filled waver.

"…. Do you, Zayn?" Liam asked, his voice becoming serious. Zayn was thankful that he was turned away from his friend, for he was blushing fiercely. To his dismay, Liam neared him cautiously.

"I don't think I want to talk about this, now. We have interviews soon." Zayn said, abruptly standing to his feet. As he turned around, Liam was a lot closer than he expected.

Liam was looking at him with such potent curiosity that Zayn wanted to give him all the answers in the world, but he simply couldn't. It just was… there was no possible explanation for it.

Zayn was in love with Liam.

"No. We have to. I won't be able to concentrate in the interviews if we don't do this now." Liam objected, grabbing Zayn's wrist as the Bradford boy tried to leave the room.

"I can't believe I let that silence linger, it was stupid. I didn't mean anything by it, Liam. Can we please just forget it?" Zayn protested, a weak look spreading across his face. He simply didn't have the energy to have his heart broken right now, even if he had to go on with it being unrequited, that was a much better option than this.

"I'm done arguing about whether we are having this talk, Zayn. It is happening and you can't avoid it by running away." Liam confirmed, letting his grip on Zayn soften. He didn't want the conversation to be any harder than it had to be. He wanted to be supportive of his friend, no matter what he had to say.

Zayn wanted to cry. He was faced with the guy that he was head over heels with and he didn't even have the courage to tell him how he felt. But he could tell that Liam would be patient so Zayn slowly moved to sit on the edge of his bed. Liam followed and sat down next to him. Their proximity was comforting but also slightly distracting for Zayn so instead of looking at Liam, he fell down onto his back and examined the ceiling.

"I don't know 'why', so don't ask. It all started a couple months ago, it appeared slowly at first, like a stupid little crush but soon, I was falling and there was just no way I was getting back up from it. I don't know what it is about you, Li, I really don't. Your gorgeous voice, your ever-supportive personality or maybe it's the way you look at me like there's no possible way in the world I could ever fail at anything I tried. You make me brave. You make me want to be better than who I am. You taught me that I should never just settle for what is but to strive for my 'more', whatever that may be. I think that's you, Li, you're my 'more'." Zayn explained, feeling his eyes well up with tears of raw emotions as he stripped layer after layer away from himself. He was being irrevocably honest with Liam, he couldn't ever withdraw these words but that was a risk he was willing to take.

Zayn didn't even notice that Liam had laid down next to him as he was talking. When he looked over, Liam's face was so close to his that his breath hitched in shock. Liam was even more gorgeous up close, his eyes sparkling with something that Zayn simply couldn't place.

"That was beautiful, Zayn. Nobody has ever trusted me enough to be that honest with me, so thank you." Liam whispered, his words coming out slowly and selectively. Zayn figured that Liam was trying to comfort him and let him down easy so he sighed and looked back up to the ceiling.

"You're welcome." Zayn muttered, slowly drowning in a sea of confusion and mixed emotion. He didn't know whether to hold onto the hope or give in to the acceptance of despair. He was in a suffocating limbo.

Liam stared at his friend, Zayn's heart was wide open and for the taking. It was just too tempting. The vulnerability that Zayn had just displayed made Liam's heart sore with newfound affection. Sure, he didn't 'love' Zayn yet but he cared deeply and terribly for the boy, he even ached for him.

"I'm not going to make any promises because this is something new for me but I think… that I might be able to do this." Liam explained vaguely.

Zayn turned to Liam, his eyes wide with speculation. _What the bloody hell did that even mean?_

"I mean, this, Zayn…. Us." Liam re-iterated, taking Zayn's now trembling hands in his own as they lay facing toward each other.

"No. Please don't just do this for me, Li. It wouldn't be fair to either of us." Zayn objected and Liam put a finger on his lips to silence his worries.

"I'm not. I think there's something here, I don't know exactly what yet, but I feel something for you that makes my stomach do cartwheels. None of the other guys do that to me so I'm thinking what we have here is more than platonic." Liam admitted, with a chuckle. He rest his forehead against Zayn's comfortably and Zayn quivered.

"Okay. We'll just… test the waters." Zayn agreed, closing his eyes and basking in their intimacy.

"I concur, which means I want to try something…" Liam said, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes.

He closed the gap between their lips and pressed his gently against Zayn's. Zayn moaned softly as Liam deepened the kiss. Their heads rushed with the excitement of a new sensation. When they pulled apart, Liam was smiling widely.

"Yup. Definitely not platonic." He announced, indulging in another quick kiss.

"We'll take it day by day?" Zayn suggested, and Liam nodded in agreement.

"I just want to stay like this for awhile. I like to watch you." Liam shared, and Zayn looked deep into Liam's eyes. Then, he pushed a bit of his hair back.

Liam gasped, "You are _not_ using my eyes as a mirror."

"No…." Zayn answered, guiltily.

Liam laughed at Zayn's embarrassment then rolled his eyes. "Alright, go for it, but only because you love me." Liam permitted and Zayn's eyes brightened with a smile and he went back to re-styling his hair.


End file.
